Madison County school board holding retreat in Florence

The Madison County Board of Education is meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in a retreat at the Marriott Shoals Hotel in Florence aimed at exploring solutions to the challenges facing the growing district in the coming year, said spokeswoman Geraldine Tibbs.

"Over the next couple of days, the board will be looking at funding issues facing the continued success of Madison County Schools in light of budget cuts, failure of the sales tax, the threat of proration and the expected increase in enrollment due to BRAC," she said.

"They will seek input from principals on these issues and discuss alternatives to deal with the funding issue."

On June 3, Madison County voters soundly defeated a half-cent sales tax increase that would have been used to help pay for new buildings and expansion for Madison County, Huntsville City and Madison City Schools.

The need for more classrooms is particularly pressing for the Madison County Schools, which a recent independent report found is gaining from 400 to 600 students annually - and could grow by as much as 800 annually over the next five years as Army families transfer to the area as part of the base realignment and closing plans.

Superintendent Terry Davis has pointed out the already-overcrowded district has $160 million in needs today - even without new BRAC demands - including a new high school, a middle school and two elementary schools as well as more classroom space.

In a meeting this year, Davis and board members indicated that, without more money, the alternatives that may be explored include leasing more portable classrooms, alternative scheduling such as year-round schooling, satellite campuses at area colleges, leasing unused commercial space for classrooms or even looking at using some neighboring district's empty classrooms.

Adding to their concerns are cuts in Alabama's Education Budget for the 2008-09 year. The district already knows it can expect 3 percent less overall from the state program that pays for teachers and other instructional needs. And there will likely be an 8 percent cut in transportation funds.

Madison County Schools held a similar retreat at the same location last year. Tibbs said the advantage of this kind of conference is getting away from the distractions of home and office.